Tuesday, July 10, 2007

My (Sigh) Pity Party

God has not been following MY plan. I wanted to spend my summer decluttering, packing to move, and getting settled in to our new house before starting up a new school year in the fall, getting involved in a new homeschooling group, and auditioning for the fall musical in our new county. Makes so much sense, right?

Instead, we are spending countless hours keeping a house realtor-ready...only to have no realtors calling, no people coming, no one buying our house. It's quite de-motivating.

We might even consider buying a house in Kenosha with a bridge loan so we could get moved and settled--but we have found nothing suitable for our family in the neighborhood we want to buy in.

So we're stuck. And I'm forced to consider doing the last thing I wanted to spend my summer doing--school.

It looks like the practical, wise course would be to start school August 1. That way, we can take the month of September or October off for moving, when we finally do sell or buy something. (Not November, surely, please, Lord! The winter clothes and coats are packed and stored at the most inaccessible end of the PODS!)

Trouble is: I do not WANT to start school in August. I am not ready for school in August. I am not ready to even think about ordering curriculum for next year. I have been half-heartedly checking the VegSource boards for used editions of the texts and novels I need, but if we start Aug. 1, I need to get it together NOW.

And I am not in the mood.

(Maybe I should write a post about our plans for next year. Will that inspire me?)

The truth is, we are still finishing up our reading lists from last year's curriculum. When we started getting our house ready to sell back in May, and began practicing lines and scenes for the musical, we shelved a lot of books with the promise to "read those this summer." We've hit the books sporadically since then, and I'm happy to report that everyone has finished their math books, practically. (Ahem. One son has two lessons left, and I'm trying to decide whether a lesson in the principle of the thing or in grace is more appropriate for this boy.) And they have been reading books of their own choice. But this week my goal is to have them spend an hour each morning and an hour each afternoon reading their remaining Sonlight books.

And after the complaining ceases, it has been a surprisingly quiet and nice way to spend our mornings and early afternoons.

2 comments:

Jennifer
said...

Hmmm....Im no expert, but I think you should listen to your heart on this one. If you wait until Sept to start school, and you end up needing to take a month off to move, you can make it up next summer just as easily as you could get started early this summer. If you're really not ready, I bet your kids aren't ready either.

"Those seeking the life of the spirit should be cheerful and free, and not neglect recreation. Married people must act in conformity with their vocation--but their progress will of necessity be but the pace of a hen." --Teresa of Avila

"Some things God can teach us only very slowly, at the pace of walking, the speed of life." --Arthur Paul Boers, The Way Is Made by Walking

What does a hen do all day? Nothing but walk about in endless circles, pecking at this or that--yet she is one of the most creative and productive of God's creatures. Though my days may take me in circles, I pray for the daily fruitfulness of a hen as I nurture the four boys and two girls God has given us.

Mama Hen & Papa Rooster

Bantam 27

Blondechick25 and Jedi Knight

Bantam23, Daughter-in-Love, StepGrand

Bantam19

Chicklet16

Bantam13

Quotes to Blog By

"For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison."~Theodore Roosevelt